Bob Doolan - 104 y.o. World War II Vet Joe Strecker Productions

bringing back hometown hero, Bob Dolan, who is celebrating his 104th birthday, this coming weekend, March 21st, and who proudly served his country in world war II and also knows. Everything that went on at Starlog Luftthree, which is that movie, Steve McQueen was in a great escape. And I had the pleasure of meeting and having lunch with Bob Doolin a year or two ago.

Thanks to Steve Murray, who also is a veteran. Steve entered America's military because of Bob Doolan, Bob Doolin. Welcome. It's a great pleasure to have you on the 55 care C morning show, sir. And I know Steve Murray, you influenced that man's life tremendously because of you. He joined America's military and he proudly served until retirement.

So he's, he was career military and he always gave you credit for influencing them in a positive way. Bob and I know you influenced a lot of young men. Uh, you were a scout master back in the day, right? Yes. And that's after you, that's after you served your country, of course, in world war II. So let us thank you for your service to our country and let's find out what year did you enlist in, uh, in the military, Bob.

Okay. You hated the call, is that, uh, the, the, the world war two, um, or the, you know, that was before you wanted to flub as before that was before the, uh, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, wasn't it. How about that? That's right. Cause that was December seven, 1941. Yeah. You were already in, but that, but that came as a shock to you, Bob.

Yes, it was definitely, I was home and that weekend,

well, I had gone to pilot school and I wasn't good enough to go beyond shingle engine shoes. They sent me home until I was going to go back to navigation school. And you ended up, you ended up as a navigator and a B 17 right now. How many missions did you go on until? Well, sadly you were shot down because you ended up in install log low three.

We all know that cause so you're telling me the lucky number 13 is the mission you're on. When you got shot down. At that time, we had to do 25 and we could go home and get ready for the Pacific. Wow. Where were you flying over when you were shot down, sir? Thousands of Kirkland in the rural rallies, uh, Northeast over the Rhine.

And were you immediately captured when your plane landed or crashed or what happened? Uh, I, I, I told him the younger men are with me shopping that way. Get out of here. The Germans will be hearing five minutes and, uh, I did make contact with the musicians and I was listed for three weeks, Louis, but ultimately got caught by the Gestapo, I guess.

Yeah, I, we would walk with, we were walking with her. Well, she separated by a hundred feet chills. The first man was captured. I was going into what was supposed to be a shaped house up there. Um, the head and, uh, I just touched the doorknob and instantaneously the door grab was open and that s***s man all over me, there was three get Xapo and three and shit.

He hit me over the head and another one's got handcuffs on me. Doesn't got a gag in my mouth and it pushed me down to the floor. Wow. Well, did they take you directly to stall log three? Oh no. I was a prisoner of the Gestapo for three weeks. They were asked her any, you know, they were know who helped me.

And, uh, I had been in two or three houses in that time that had traveled promoting into Holland to the Iraq and train, but, uh, And they say I was the first man here and then they get me down and hurt me. They hit me and pushed me down and put the cuffs on me. They hit you. I would say that that would hurt.

That would hurt. I'm certain of that Gestapo treatment. I can't imagine being pleasant at all. So after they're done with you for three weeks, is that when they shifted you over to the pow camp, they turned me over to the look loft. Yeah. And I looked awful. Uh,

I was entering into the, what they calling...